Movin Out

I just got back from the Boston production of Movin Out, the musical production based on Billy Joel songs, choreographed by Twyla Tharp. It's really a dance production, not a musical. There is virtually no dialog, and the dancing performers who are on-stage do not sing.

Let me just say that (a) I enjoy many Billy Joel songs and have a few of his albums but I'm not a huge fan; and (b) I have daughters who are very much into dance, and as a good dad I very much enjoy watching them perform, but otherwise I'm not much of a fan of dance; and (c) I'm not really a big fan of musical theater either. Having gotten that out of the way, however, let me also say that Movin' Out is excellent. It isn't going to transform me into a huge fan of Billy Joel, or dance, or musical theatre, but I did enjoy it thoroughly. People who lived through the upheavals of the sixties and seventies should definitely appreciate the show, and younger people probably will too.

I particularly liked the fact that the show wasn't entirely a parade of Billy Joel's greatest hits. Although many hits were covered, several of the songs were from his lesser-known material. Some of Billy Joel's biggest hits, like Piano man, aren't even in the show. The band was very good, and their covers were mostly very true to the original material. There were a few small stylistic departures from the original Billy Joel versions of the songs, but they were entirely appropriate to the way the story was developing... and in every single case that I noticed, the chroeography justified the departure.

The dancing was spectacular at times, and the athleticism and endurance of the dancers was amazing. Male roles were featured more than female roles, but all of the lead performers had some great scenes. The story, which revolved around characters mostly drawn (and extrapolated) from some of the songs on the album The Stranger, was far more interesting than I expected, especially given that it was conveyed entirely through the choreography. There was some humor thrown in, but it's mainly a dark storyline (despite the fact that most of the individual songs probably aren't usually interpreted that way) that leads to a redemptive ending.

There were one or two numbers that made me slightly regret the fact that we brought both of your young girls to the show... but those same numbers were also amongst the best in the show, and actually I have to say that they were some of the most powerful examples I've ever seen of dance telling a story that people can connect to their own experiences. (The dancing set to Captain Jack stands out in my mind in particular as very powerful, and as a strong 'R'-rated material. If you have ever debated whether Captain Jack is a drug reference or a sexual reference, this number demonstrated pretty convincingly that it is both.)

Overall: Highly recommended. If it comes to your city, it's worth seeing.